77 Years ago this week the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill delivered a speech to their House of Commons remembered as the ‘We Shall Fight’ speech. You may remember this speech from your history classes but you may not remember that it was in response to the ‘Miracle at Dunkirk.’

In late May and early June 1940 over 300,000 British, French, Belgian and Canadian troops were surrounded by a massive German force in and around the French port of Dunkirk. They were low on ammunition, almost out of food and the British Navy lacked the sealift capability to rescue even a small percent of the stranded. The entire British Expeditionary Force was about to be destroyed. Imagine the bravery of the British Navy and Merchant Mariners risking everything to rescue this force…now think back to your history lessons and you may remember the other force that made the ‘Miracle’ possible… If you said, everyday Brits, civilians, amateur boaters, or fisherman then you remember your history. That’s right, British civilians went to sea, into war-ravaged waters in every imaginable type of watercraft and rescued their soldiers and allies. The greatest defeat in British military history was averted largely through the actions of the last minute civilian volunteers.

In his speech to the House of Commons on that day in June, 1940 Churchill declared:

…we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government – every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…

It’s with great sadness that we realize in 77 short years elements of Her Majesty’s government has a different approach to those who would subjugate our British cousins. This approach is called Run, Hide, Tell and is counter-terrorism policy at both the local and national levels.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are times when running, hiding and telling are the appropriate responses to violence but those are not the only appropriate responses. The British Expeditionary Force ‘ran’ from certain defeat in 1940 so that they could return better prepared to fight and eventually defeat the fascists. When confronted with those determined to kill or enslave us, we must be willing to fight. We saw the differences between these two approaches on 9/11/01. For decades we’d been schooled as a populace to be non-confrontational and wait for negotiation or rescue when confronted by hijackers. Three planes full of civilians likely followed that advice and stood by while their planes were used as weapons against important financial and military targets…but that fourth plane, Flight 93 held brave souls who were armed with nothing more than the knowledge of what had happened to the other hijacked flights. These hardy souls didn’t follow their training… they determined that they could no longer Run, Hide, & Tell…they fought back and by fighting back they saved untold numbers of their fellow citizens.

Toward the end of my military career the Department of Defense came out with a policy not much different than Run, Hide & Tell. The warriors I served with and I resolved never to abandon the option to fight. One of the few fates that I can conceive of worse than becoming a murder victim…is being an accomplice to your own demise or, through my inactions, allowing others to die. To paraphrase a great orator: We shall fight in the streets and alleys, we shall fight in the halls and the work places, we shall fight in the markets and we shall fight in the halls of government when confronted by those determined to suppress us under the odious apparatus of Sharia law or any other form of fascism.

To read or listen to the full text of Sir Winston Churchill’s ‘We Shall Fight’ speech click here.

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Do something… Hiding, or sitting back, is not going to accomplish anything. And the gunman would’ve been successful if my friend Spencer had not gotten up. So I just want that lesson to be learned going forward, in times of, like, terror like that, please do something. Don’t just stand by and watch.

Spencer Stone, U.S. Airman and recipient of France’s Legion d’honneur for taking down a rifle wielding Jihadi on one of France’s high speed trains

For his warrior spirit and frankly for ignoring DOD policies that tell service members to hide and barricade themselves during an active shooter situation, Airman Stone along with National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, their longtime friend Anthony Sadler and British businessman Chris Norman are the latest inductees into Prepography‘s Wall of Honor.

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You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pre-text, It is serious in terms of sort of the modern manner with which nations are going to resolve problems… President Obama wants to emphasize to the Russians that there are a right set of choices that can still be made to address any concerns they have about Crimea, about their citizens, but you don’t choose to invade a country in order to do that.

Andrew’s Note: Watch out Putin…there may be a harshly worded letter in your future but the good news is that your 19th century aggression could only be countered by an early 20th century (size) force once we reduce our manpower to pre-WWII levels.

Those drawn to socialism and communism should take the time to learn what happens when you take collectivism to it’s natural conclusion and human beings cease being valued as individuals and only have value relating to their utility to the collective.

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Words don’t matter to tyrants and genocidal maniacs. They push until they are convinced there will be consequences if they go further. Our weakness invites their aggression and makes war more likely, not less.

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We certainly don’t have a dog in the fight… We should be focused on defending the United States of America. That’s why young men and women sign up to join the military, not to… serve as Al Qaeda’s air force.

I’ll give you one of the simplest principles of foreign policy that we ought to be following… Don’t give weapons to people who hate you. Don’t give weapons to people who want to kill you.

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Earlier this week I presented a short article titled the Top 10 Personal Protection Measures For Foreign Travel. The response to the short article was tremendous so I thought I’d expand the anti-terrorism, anti-crime and anti-kidnapping theme with an additional Top 10 Tips for Countering Surveillance While Walking. Many of these concepts can also be adapted for domestic use, a without rule of law (WROL) situation or even wilderness areas.

The tips presented run the gamut from passive measures to detect surveillance to active and even aggressive measures to deter, detect and disengage from surveillance.

Before we begin I want to point out that if you have a trained, professional surveillance team (rotating so the same person or persons isn’t always the one watching you) with state of the art communications and competent leadership following you…you will likely never know it unless they take overt actions. A surveillance team that’s trained and large enough can actually follow you partially from being in front of you by rotating team members down parallel streets. While such capabilities exist, you are much more likely and the techniques listed below should prove much more effective against the untrained, under-manned and under-equipped… street criminals and less sophisticated terrorist or kidnapping groups.

Mirrors: Use mirrors and reflective surfaces in your environment to spot surveillance. Vehicle mirrors, traffic mirrors that allow drivers to see traffic entering the roadway, and the glass in windows can all be used to spot surveillance without looking directly at your potential followers.

Retrace Your Course: Retracing your course can make it easier to spot surveillance but may tip your hand. You can also use short doublebacks like a stairway to a business that forces you to face to the rear.

Stop Unexpectedly: Stop to read a sign, admire a pretty girl or ‘look’ in a newspaper kiosk and see how the people on the street behind you act/react. Stop to tie your shoe, buy a cup of coffee or eat lunch in a crowded area. Longer stops may move amateur groups onto easier targets but will give a sophisticated team time to improve their surveillance plan. (more…)

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to four of the seven continents and sometimes I’ve ended up in areas that were a little dangerous, a little anti-American or both. If you have a job that takes you to some of the world’s more interesting places (like countries where kidnapping is an industry) here are some tips and tricks that might help keep you safe from both terrorists and criminals.

Vary Your Route & Time: Take different routes to and from your regular destinations as well as make the trips at different times of day. Avoid routines for work, shopping, dining, and other daily activities.

Don’t Leave By The Same Door: Use different doors when entering and leaving a building if possible.

Protect Your Privacy: Don’t share personal or family information with strangers and be wary of new acquaintances. Avoid use of titles, and job descriptions on travel documents and routine forms. Abandon the use of rank and certain courtesies within your group for the duration of the trip so that the senior leader is harder to identify. I still remember how hard it was to call my commander by his first name during one week TDY (trip) we took in civilian clothes before a deployment.

Carry the Right Documents the Right Way: Carry the documents on your body (not in a purse, backpack, briefcase, etc.). Also make sure to carry the right ID which will likely be your U.S. passport but may be a military ID if you are deploying. Depending on your destination you may be better off with a tourist passport or a government passport (official or diplomatic…assuming you qualify). Also, depending on your past travel you may need to have a passport reissued, for instance if you’ve traveled to Israel and now plan to travel to an Arab country. (more…)